Happier With You
by pottermum
Summary: Harry has wallowed in grief and guilt since the battle, shutting everyone out, including Ginny. She returns to Hogwarts, with their future uncertain. Angsty, set to Ed Sheerhan's songs.


He'd gone to Hogsmeade, almost desperate to see her; talk to her. He'd wasted the summer after the battle, wallowing in grief and guilt, stupidly rebuffing all her attemtps to talk and offers to help him, knowing now that she was dealing with inner demons of her own from the past year.

 _Walking down 29th and Park  
I saw you in another's arms  
Only a month we've been apart  
You look happier_

He'd been holed up in a booth with Ron and Hermione, eyes fastened on the door, but she hadn't appeared. Other students went past, shooting him hopeful looks that he'd notice them as they enjoyed their first outing for the school year to Hogsmeade. Finally resigning himself to not seeing her, he escaped the claustrophobic atmosphere of the Three Broomsticks, giving Ron and Hermione some much needed time alone. Hearing laughter from up the street, he looked up, only to see her hugging Dean, while Hannah, Seamus and Neville looked on, before they all went inside the Hog's Head, arm in arm.

 _Saw you walk inside a bar  
He said something to make you laugh  
I saw that both your smiles were twice as wide as ours  
Yeah, you look happier, you do_

He felt a pain in his chest like nothing he'd ever experienced before.

 _Ain't nobody hurt you like I hurt you  
But ain't nobody love you like I do  
Promise that I will not take it personal, baby  
If you're moving on with someone new_

He'd always known she deserved better than him. What could he possibly have to offer her, other than a life of uncertainty.

 _'Cause baby you look happier, you do  
My friends told me one day I'll feel it too  
And until then I'll smile to hide the truth  
But I know I was happier with you_

Before he made a fool of himself and ran into the Hog's Head and confessed his undying love to her, he Disapparated.

 _Sat on the corner of the room  
Everything's reminding me of you  
Nursing an empty bottle and telling myself you're happier  
Aren't you?_

He'd left the Weasley family Christmas dinner before pudding, before he did something stupid like pull her into his arms and never let her go. He closed the Floo, grabbed a bottle of Ogden's Finest that had been a gift from someone, and tried to drink her from his mind, even as he knew he could never get her out of his heart.

 _Ain't nobody hurt you like I hurt you  
But ain't nobody need you like I do  
I know that there's others that deserve you  
But my darling, I am still in love with you_

 _But I guess you look happier, you do  
My friends told me one day I'd feel it too  
I could try to smile to hide the truth  
I know I was happier with you_

He threw himself into Auror training, for what else did he have? Visits with Teddy, dinners with George and Ron, somehow he made it through one day, then another. The nights were all about her, though. In his dreams she was his, in every way he dared imagine. He welcomed, almost longed for, the nights

 _Baby, you look happier, you do  
I knew one day you'd fall for someone new  
But if breaks your heart like lovers do  
Just know that I'll be waiting here for you_

He roused at the sound of someone banging on his front door. He stumbled off the sofa, waving Kreacher back to the kitchen. He opened the door and his jaw dropped.

"Harry Potter, you're an arse," she scowled, storming past him into Grimmauld Place.

He shut the door, following behind her. "G-Gin?"

She turned. Her eyes were blazing in fury, her face was pale yet determined, and she angrily brushed tears off her cheeks. "I am beyond furious with you!" she exclaimed.

He was surprised; they had barely been alone the last two years. "But-" he began.

She cut him off. "Shut it," she said, "sit!" She pointed to the sofa he had just left.

He sat.

He couldn't take his eyes off her, as she walked around the sofa, talking, throwing her hands in the air, or wringing them together. He caught a few words – _communication, noble prat, and many more_ – but he was too caught up in how beautiful she was.

And how close. For the first time in nearly two years, she was within two feet of him.

She loomed over him. " Are you even listening to me?" she demanded, hurt.

He nodded. Her coppery hair framed her face, peering down at him in concern. "Harry?"

He opened his mouth to respond, but where to start? He opened his mouth, intending to say _'I'm sorry'_ – but instead he blurted, "I'm so in love with you."

She stilled. "What?"

He gulped. "I know you deserve much better than me. I'm a moody git, the press follow me everywhere, I..."

Ginny just stared at him, stunned, as he prattled on, listing all his faults. "Shut up, just shut up," she finally said.

He shut up and looked up at her.

"I love you too," she admitted.

The pain in his chest disappeared for the first time in months, replaced with butterflies of hope. "You do?" He had to ask. "Why?"

She half laughed, half sobbed. "Because you're just so...Harry."

She threw herself on him; in his surprise, he only just caught her before his body caught the brunt of her weight. "Oof," he grunted, before his lips were claimed by hers.

Time lost all meaning. She was here, in his arms, kissing him. And he kissed her back, tentative at first, then almost desperately, in fear this may be the last time he knew such bliss. All he knew that he could never let her go, that he loved and needed her more than anything else.

 _We are still kids, but we're so in love  
Fighting against all odds  
I know we'll be alright this time  
Darling, just hold my hand  
Be my girl, I'll be your man  
I see my future in your eyes _

They broke apart slightly, resting their foreheads against the other's as they gazed into each other's eyes. Oh, they had lots more to discuss, but life was suddenly brighter, with a future full of possibilities.

It was perfect.

Songs, 'Happier' and 'Perfect' by Ed Sheeran.


End file.
